Authorities escort Nicole Vaisey and Stephen Howells to their arraignment on first-degree kidnapping charges in Fowler, NY, in August 2014. Photo: AP

CANTON, N.Y. — Two young Amish sisters were sexually abused after their abduction from a roadside farm stand in northern New York, a prosecutor said Saturday.

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain’s disclosure came hours after the county’s sheriff said the couple charged in the kidnapping were prowling for easy targets and may have planned to abduct other children.

Stephen Howells Jr. and Nicole Vaisey, both of Hermon, were arrested and arraigned Friday on charges they abducted the 7-year-old and 12-year-old sisters with the intent to physically or sexually abuse them.

“We felt that there was the definite potential that there was going to be other victims,” St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin Wells said.

An Amish family rides along Route 812 in Heuvelton, N.Y. on Friday, Aug. 15.Photo: AP

The sisters were abducted Wednesday from their family’s farm stand in Oswegatchie and were set free by their captors 24 hours later and turned up safe at the door of a house 15 miles from where they were taken.

The sheriff said Howells, 39, and Vaisey, 25, “were targeting opportunities” and did not necessarily grab the girls because they were Amish.

“There was a lot of thought process that went into this,” Wells said. “They were looking for opportunities to victimize.”

The suspects are being held without bail. A preliminary court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.

Vaisey’s lawyer, Bradford Riendeau told The New York Times that Howells had abused Vaisey and treated her submissively. He said she made a “voluntary statement” to investigators after her arrest and was obtaining an order of protection against him.

New York State Police crime scene investigators search for clues at a roadside vegetable stand in Oswegatchie, N.Y., Thursday, Aug. 14.Photo: AP

“She appears to have been the slave and he was the master,” Riendeau told the newspaper.

There was no answer Saturday at the St. Lawrence County Conflict Defender’s Office, which is representing Howells.

Wells said the girls were able to provide details to investigators about their time in captivity.